Canada-based Scotiabank to Land in Uruguay

The arrival of Scotiabank in Uruguay reaffirms the solid brand positioning of the country both in the region and worldwide. The bank has just confirmed the purchase agreement of Uruguayan Banco Comercial and the financial institution “Pronto!” in a $300 million operation.

Both institutions have a strong presence regarding personal banking. The Banco Comercial has subsidiaries in each of the country’s 19 geographic departments. It is also the major credit card issuer. And Pronto! is the third largest consumer credit company in Uruguay.

The Scotiabank Group is one of the most important financial institutions in North America, with a strong international presence and over 70,000 employees. The bank services 18 million customers in over 50 countries.

Mr. Carlos Taboada, who represents the Canadian Bank said that the aim of this move is to increase its operations in a financial market characterized by the stability of the regulations and institutions, which have proved an interesting ongoing development.

Scotiabank will focus on sale and risk management, along with their other wide range of products. Brian Porter, Head of International Banking said “Scotiabank has ambitious plans for the Uruguay market and that is what makes this an exciting opportunity for our customers. Our introduction to the Uruguay market will enhance an already unique Latin American footprint.”

As opportunities abroad are becoming increasingly hard to find with international rates at a historical low, the financial institutions are looking to improve the access to banking services by participating in the investment processes going on in the country in order to fund them, developing more services at the same time.

On the other hand, one could ask: aren’t there enough banks already in such a small business market as Uruguay? Well, it seems that there are still enough business opportunities to keep international financial institutions interested in this part of the world.

Over the past years, Banco Santander purchased the ABN Bank, BBVA got the Crédito, the HSBC and the Itaú Bank have both very strong expansion plans. And now with Scotiabank purchasing Nuevo Banco Comercial, Uruguay’s market will certainly become a much more competitive and dynamic one.

According to Scotiabank’s CEO, Mr. Rick Waugh, this move is aligned with the Bank’s investment strategy in high growth markets where an increase in the financial services is expected.

Posted by Cris Roma